Driver's Ed? It can't be possible!

At our home, the last few months have brought a lot of transition.  Since October, my two oldest children have moved out into apartments for college.  That was a change, but one we’ve been through before as my daughter was going back to college after having been out on her own before.

With everything going on, what has us unnerved the most isn't the relocating, it is the fact that we just signed up our third child for driver’s ed!  You would think having been through this twice before, it wouldn’t be a big deal.   But, it is! 

This is partially because we feel like we have two sets of kids.  My oldest two are from a previous marriage – so, we’ve been through the early teens with them while still having “babies” in the home.  Not babies, really.  There is only a five year difference between my second and third child, but when kids are growing up, five years is a big difference.

Besides, driving scares me to death.  I’m not a very good driver, and I’m an even worse parent side-seat driver.  I panic, I yell, I cover my eyes, I make them pull over.   Bad for both our nerves! 

Yes, homeschoolers get to go through driver's ed.  Just for those of you who are wondering.  We can sign-up through the local schools.  Our family  is especialy lucky because a woman we love at our church teaches the seated portion of driver's ed at a local charter school, so we have an 'in' with the teacher.  :-)  No favoritism, of course, but mom feels better knowing the teacher is a good one!

So, here we are on the cusp of another driver.  For now, he’s only talking driver’s ed.  It’ll be next September before he’s eligible for a driver’s permit and another year before he’s eligible to get a driver’s license.  It’s not like he’ll drive away tomorrow.  But – time so does fly with children.  We’ll turn around twice and it’ll be my now twelve-year old taking driver’s ed.

Sigh!  Why can’t we come up with that bubble that freezes time?  The roads are a scary place, and I haven't had any success getting them to wear helmets while in the car (don't laugh - I've tried.  You can ask them!).

How do you maintain your sanity and let your kids drive?